00:00Matt, thanks so much for coming in to discuss this case.
00:05Just going back to that interview in October, why did you say that?
00:09And do you stand by those words?
00:11Thank you for having me, first and foremost.
00:14Yes, I do stand by everything I said in that interview.
00:18And I said it because there were a number of cases that I was aware of
00:24where it was apparent to me that race was being used as an aggravating factor
00:31by the Independent Office of Police Conduct
00:33to raise the profile and aggravate the allegations against officers.
00:38And it wasn't until the cases reached the tribunal or the court
00:42where the allegations of race fell away
00:45on the basis that there was no evidence offered.
00:49And as I said at the time, there were two very high-profile cases
00:54where that had occurred, the Bianca Williams and Dos Santos stop-and-search case
01:00as well as the case that's commonly referred to as the Croydon bus incident.
01:05Talk our viewers through that and listeners as well.
01:07The Croydon bus, for instance, because an officer was fined some £1,500
01:11for a conviction that was later overturned.
01:15Yes, that's correct.
01:16It was an officer, PC Perry Lathwood,
01:19who was part of a revenue protection inspection operation.
01:23It's a pre-planned operation specifically for dealing with fare evasion.
01:28They were dealing with buses.
01:30There were a line of revenue protection inspectors
01:33who are independent from the police.
01:35They're not part of the police.
01:36They're part of Transport for London.
01:38Behind them, there's a line of PCSOs,
01:43the support officers for the police.
01:46And behind them, there's a line of police officers
01:49who are there to prevent any disturbance
01:53or stopping people from making off.
01:55So what happened in that occasion was a lady got off the bus.
01:59As she got off, she was asked for a ticket
02:01by the revenue protection inspection officer.
02:04She refused to show it.
02:06She then pushed past a PCSO who had her arms open.
02:10And PC Perry Lathwood was just there doing his job on the day as he was briefed to do.
02:17And, you know, in the end, he had to take hold of her and arrest her.
02:23And as a consequence of your comments about that case, that conviction was overturned.
02:28You said it was a vexatious complaint.
02:31You said that many officers in the capital had concerns about this.
02:34Now, after those comments, the Professional Standards Department in the Met
02:38cleared you of any wrongdoing.
02:39But this suspension dragged on for many, many months.
02:42What did you do as a consequence of the suspension?
02:45Well, after being suspended, I was contacted by the Free Speech Union.
02:49And I was offered support by them, for which I was very grateful.
02:54Given it was my own staff support association who were coming after me,
02:58none of the insurances that I had with them applied.
03:02So I was without any kind of funding or support to be able to challenge the suspension,
03:07which was advised to me was unlawful.
03:12You've now been given a permanent suspension because you raised the fact
03:16that you were doing this crowdfunding on GB News with my colleague Martin Daubry last month.
03:22How has that left you feeling now?
03:24Well, what's actually occurred is they've guillotined the original investigation,
03:29which, by the way, is still ongoing.
03:31The original investigation into what I said to you on that fateful October day.
03:37And they've instead, they've gone after me for the crowdfunding interviews
03:41I did with Martin Daubry and the Daily Telegraph.
03:45Just very quickly, Rick, are you going to continue to fight this?
03:47I am going to continue to fight this, yes.
03:49I won't be cowed and I won't be bullied.
03:51And, you know, we will be challenged to this decision.
03:53Thank you. Rick Pryor, thanks for joining us in the studio.
03:55Now, a spokesperson for the Police Federation for England and Wales
03:59confirmed that Mr Pryor had been found in breach of the Federation standards.
04:04The spokesperson also added that, as a result,
04:07Rick has been removed from his position as chair and as a Federation representative
04:11and also prevented from standing for election to any Federation position.
04:16Both sanctions are imposed on a permanent basis.
04:19In line with our standard policy on governance matters,
04:22the Federation will not be commenting on the details of the case.
04:26Back to you, Nana.
04:27Thank you very much, Charlie Peters.
04:31Fascinating story, really.
04:33Thank you very much.
04:34Thank you very much.
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